St. Landry democrat., 1887-02-05

81 home Of those who come to Him. He ia
warm home; they rest under the feathe
OF OF the Almighty" Christ tells US tn
~ chickens find not warmer place under Il
- !, wing OF the hen than we in Him. He is
~ safe home; our fortunes may 90 down tt
y degrees below zero; the SHOWS of troub
"a ~ may fall; the winds of persecution ma
~ hoWl; the Jackals OF death may stalk fort
Z all IS well, for great peace have the
70 VINO trust IN God" From this home "
snail never be driven out. The sheriff ma
sell US out OF our earthly house, or the fire
. may burn it down. or the winds carry
> away, but that home shall always be ours
= Men talk as though starting for Go
!: were putting out on trackless moor, O
wandering through the sands of a grea
. Sahara No, no it is coming to the warm
est and best Of homes, as doves to thei
S windows.
Again, these souls today gathering TO
membership, are like doves, because the,
come IN ftocks. The buzzard with dripDint
peak, nutterlng up from the carrion i.
alone. 1ou occasionally look up agains
the wlntry sky and see a solitary birc
Wlnglng past But doves or pigeons are il
focks; by scores and hundreds do the,
fly You hear the loud whirr OF their
wings as they pass. So to-day we see &
) great flock coming into the Kingdom 1t is
not straggler trying to catch up with his
regiment; 1t is solid phalanx, taking the
Kingdom. 1t is not a drop on your hand or
cheek that leaves you in doubt whether it
rains or not, but the rush of an unnlistaka-
BILE shower
There are all ages in this flock Some Of
them are young, and the very first use
| they make Of their wings is. to fly into the
Kingdom. Some Of them are old, and
their wings have been torn with shot and
RULED with the tempest, and they had al
| most dropped into the sea. Some of them
have been making very crooked course;
they dipped their wings in fountains of
sin; they wandered near the gulf CT perdi-
tlon but they saw their danger - they
| changed their course. They have come at
| last "as doves to their windows"
thank God that have lived to see this
day; to my dying hour I shall not cease to
| praise Him for this manifestation Of His
/ grace. Praise to Him, sun and moon and
stars! Praise Him, Church militant on
earth! Praise Him, church triumphant in
Heaven! Let the church beneath raise Up
its right hand of graduation, and the
church above reach down Its right hand of
joy, and while the two are clasped. let the
elders of the church put to our lips the
wine Of earthly celebration, and the cup
bearers of Heaven bring up out of the
vaults Of eternity the oldest wine, pre-
pared by Him who trod the wine press
alone, and SO let two worlds at once keep
jubilee!
Who are these who come to US to-day!
Many are young. Until Robert Rai1es
came there was no organized effort for
saving the young. We spent all our strength
trying to bend old trees, when a little
pressure would have been sufficient for the
sapling. We let men go down to the very
bottom of sin before we try to lift them up.
1t is great deal easier to keep a train on
the track than to get it on when it is off.
The experienced reinsman checks the fiery
steed at the first jump, for when he gets
full swing, the swift hoofs clicking fire
from the pavement and the bit between his
teeth, his momentum is irresistible. 1t is
said that the young must be allowed to sow
their wild oats" l have noticed that
those who sow their wild oats seld ON try
to raise any other crop.
went through the heaviest snow-storm
have ever known to see dying girl. Her
cheek on the pillow was as white as the
snow on the easement. Her large round
eye had not lost any of its luster. Loved
ones stood all around the bed trying to
hold her back. Her mother could not give
her up; her father could not give her up,
and one nearer to her than either father or
mother was frantic with grief. I said:
Fanny, how do you feel?' ooh" she
says, "happy, happy, Mr.. Talmage. Tell
all the young folks that religion will make
them happy"
AS l came out of the room, louder
than all the sobs and wailings of grief, I
heard the sweet, clear voice Of the dying
girl: "Good night; we shall meet again
on the other side of the river" The next |
Sabbath we buried her. We brought white |
flowers and laid them on the coffin. There |
was in all that crowded church but one |
really happy and delighted face, and that |
was the face of Fanny. o, wish that to-
day my Lord Jesus would go through this |
audience and take all these flowers Of youth |
and garland them on His brow.
But while great flock this day comes to
the dove-cote of mercy, the largest flock is
going the other way. It is very easy
thing to tame doves. Go out with hand
full Of corn to feed pigeons and they will
fly on your shoulders and hands, so tame
are they God has fed those who are before
me with ''the finest of wheat" and yet you
have flown from Him all your lives long;
you have taken your clothes out of His
and your bread out OF HIS nand5.
Gods spirit will not always strive. In
the morning you have gone out after Sc
we're night, and seen the birds dead on the
snow; so, after awhile, Gods mercy will
cease, and the earth will be covered with
the bodies of those who persisted in the
storm. That storm is coming; it will shiv-
er the mast of pride; it will drive into
the white reefs Of death every cargo OF sin.
The cedars of the mountain will split in the
hurricane, and the islands shall be moved
out Of their places, and the continents shall
be rent assunder, and the hemisphere shall
whirl like top in the fury of that day.
The mountains will be blasted and the
beasts, in alright, be pitched from the cliffs
n an avalanche of terror The dead shall
rush forth from their sepulchres to see
what is the matter, and all those who de-
'pise God shall horribly perish.